Museum Staff
Jennifer Andrade
Museum Assistant Director Email Jennifer Andrade
Jennifer was born and raised in East Whittier and resides near the Museum with her 3 handsome boys and husband of 12 years. Jennifer says the most rewarding time of her life was being a stay-at-home mom to raise her sons through their early years. Jennifer rejoined the workforce and became the Visitor Services Coordinator at the Museum in 2012. “This job works out perfectly for me and my family” says Jennifer. Working just minutes away from my home, Jennifer is able to be a dedicated baseball mom for her all-star players Rudy and Nathan! In her free time Jennifer enjoys attending church, sporting events (go Angels!), camping, fishing, and the beach.
Lisa Reckon
Curator of Exhibits & Education
Email Lisa Reckon
Lisa is a 4th generation Californian of mostly Irish and Cherokee descent, mixed with various and sundry other nationalities. She has a varied and eclectic background that somehow gives her a unique qualification for her job as Curator. Lisa's degree in Theater from Cal Poly (she's been in about 100 stage plays including 3 European tours with a Rep Company and time in 2 improv companies; a couple of radio shows and 3 movie shorts) gives her an understanding of lighting, fabrication and public presentation. She has a natural talent in artistry and, aside from drawing and painting, can work in just about any medium you'd care to think up. Coming from a family of 3 girls with a 3rd generation carpenter as a dad, Lisa spent a lot of time in the workshop and picked up another talent: skill with power tools. All this, with the addition of her pick-up truck, makes her a fairly competent exhibit designer. She really likes to travel and has seen 38 of the states and about 10 foreign countries. She has a great hubby, a talented daughter and several champion ponies taking up space in her back yard, happily eating their way through her paycheck.
Kristine Smith
Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator
Email Kristine Smith
Kristine is a Los Angeles native. As a child, she read the book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and has been obsessed with museums ever since. She was also the kind of kid who would much rather look for insects than play with dolls. After graduating from UC Berkeley, she moved back to LA and worked for a few years at the Natural History Museum in the Insect Zoo- a match made in Heaven! Here at the Children’s Museum, you may find her feeding our tarantula when she’s not greeting guests at the front desk or giving a school tour. She loves the energy and wonder of our young visitors. She believes that early childhood is the perfect time to lay a foundation of curiosity and stewardship of our natural world. It is her personal mission in life to turn a person’s “Ew!” into an “Oooh!” when they see a “creepy-crawly.” The best thing that’s ever happened to her in a museum is either getting married in one or having a parasitic fly named after her. She lives in La Habra with her husband and two children and is happy to be here serving her new community.
Erin was born and raised in San Diego County. She has always loved history but after visiting Colonial Williamsburg and Washington D.C. on a school trip in seventh grade, she knew she wanted to a career in museums. She attended Cal State Fullerton for her B.A. and ten years later went back for her Masters. She worked in museum education at Rancho Los Cerritos in Long Beach for many years and has taught English in South Korea and Germany. In her free time she likes to spend time with her boyfriend, especially going out to eat and watching movies and, unsurprisingly, visiting other museums and historic sites.
Bridget grew up in Whittier and frequently visited the Children's Museum at La Habra as a child. She came back to the museum as a volunteer in high school and again in college as a visitor services assistant. She graduated from California State University Fullerton in 2022 with a bachelor of arts in entertainment and tourism communications with a minor in American studies. You may recognize her from videos on the museum's Instagram and Tik Tok pages. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, going to the thrift store, and hosting themed parties.